Share the Wealth Teacher-Author Spotlight- Deana Thelen

Happy Spring!

Okay, okay. I know that many of you are still knee-deep in snow and bundled in your parka! However, here in Utah it has been beautiful! It is almost shorts and sandals weather! WAHOO!

April is almost upon us and with that comes (or has already) that scary word that will cause most teacher to flinch! STATE MANDATED TESTING! Normally I would be one of those teachers. However, with all the changes that we have made at our school this year in order to better serve our students, I am excited for the tests to see if what we have worked on for an entire school year has paid off. So, BRING 'EM!

I also wanted to thank all you amazing people who are members of my blog, Facebook page, and Teachers Pay Teachers and Teacher's Notebook shops. I LOVE hearing from your with your special requests, questions, suggestions, and just friendly hellos! What an amazing circle of friends I have- THANK YOU! And, to those who are landing here for the first time- I hope you will consider joining us for the long-haul. You can NEVER have to many colleagues when it comes to the education realm!

And, speaking of colleagues, I am excited to bring you another amazing teacher-author spotlight. This week I would like you to meet Deana Thelen, the creative genius behind First Grade Chatter. Dana hails us from California and has this to say about herself: "I have been a first grade teacher in Southern California for 18 years! Boy how time flies when you're having fun! I love the teacher interactions on Pinterest, Tpt, and on blogs. I have learned so much! I am determined to never stop learning and to always keep my classroom fresh and current."

When I read her statement, I knew right then and there that Deana is a dedicated teacher. See, as teachers it is easy to just do the same old 'stuff' because it is comfortable and "easy". When Deana said that she likes to keep her room fresh and current, I just get the feeling that she is one who keeps up with best practices.

As I browsed her (currently) 48 resources (9, yes NINE of which are FREE), I found that this lower elementary teacher is all about having resources that fit the common core standards (and most other standards as well). As a sampling, here are several that I think you might enjoy taking a peek at:

Teacher-Author Spotlight Resources Participants

1. Aloha First Grade Hawaiian Luau Activities 2. Common Core Math Facts Mastery-Math Wars 3. First Grade Substitute Folder and Emergency Activities

4. Cinco de Mayo First Grade Fun 5. Earth Day Writing Fun Freebie 6. Patriotic Musical Program for Primary Grades

7. The Tale of Peter Rabbit 8. Wild Things

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

As you can see, there is a WIDE range of FRESH and CURRENT resources just as she had mentioned. One way to get an idea about a teacher-author is to look at their ratings. Deana currently has a 4.0/4.0 from over 200 votes (or feedback scores).

Just so you can see what others are saying about her, here is some feedback from actual customers of her shop:

Lorimarluk

Very good! Great ideas!

March 16, 2013

cjames31

This fits in perfectly with my presidents and patriots unit!

February 24, 2013

Dusty Drosche  (TpT Seller)

This is awesome and will go perfectly with my pirate-themed ar study this week! Thanks!

February 21, 2013

hamilton338

Love, love, love this! We always have a USA unit near the end of the school year. This will definitely be a part of that this year!

I love to read feedback when I want to purchase an item. While I don't use that solely to make my decision, it helps me get a feel for the seller and what kind of experience I can expect when dealing with them. I can tell from Deana feedback that she is a seller that will take care of me if I have a problem.

In the tradition of Share the Wealth, I wanted to share a resource with you that Deana has created. This FREE resource is called, Pirate Say 'Arrrrrr' and can be found HERE or by clicking on the picture below. This resource has been downloaded over 1,500 times and has a 4.0/4.0 rating on it! That means that teachers are finding it to be useful.

It comes with easy to read and understand directions. The gist of the game is that the student must identify the 15 cards that have the "ar" sound. Not only that, but they must be able to tell those words apart from the other included words that do NOT contain the sound. It sounds fun and engaging, AND it will get the kids to read, read, read!

 The sampling of cards shown are eye-catching and will keep the kiddos interested in the activity. I would recommend printing them on card stock and laminating them so that they have a better chance of surviving repeated use, because this is going to be a popular activity!

 I love that they "collect" the words and then use one in a sentence to help enforce the writing end of the Language Arts requirement! WAHOO!

 It will be worth your time to download the file and look it over. Don't forget that Deana would LOVE to have feedback from you as well, especially after you have tried it with your own kiddos!

If you are interested in learning more about Deana and her resources, you can find her on her BLOG, on PINTEREST, and on TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS.

Thanks for joining us on another fantastic teacher-author spotlight. Next week don't miss my Themed Linky that will have both PAID and FREE Spring resources for your browsing pleasure.

Have a great weekend and please stop by again soon!

-Mr. Hughes

P.S. Please remember to click on a SOCIAL MEDIA button at the bottom of this post and "Share the Wealth" and help others learn about this amazing teacher-author.

Please Note: This was NOT a paid review of this teacher-author. Neither money nor product influenced my opinions or statements about this seller and his/her products. Also, prices, ratings, and changes to products after my review may occur, but I do strive to give the most current and accurate information possible at the time of this posting.